Dopamine is a neurotransmitter in the brain. Since this discovery, made in the 1950's, the function of dopamine in the brain has been intensely explored. To date, it is well established that dopamine is essential in several aspects of brain function including motor, cognitive, sensory, emotional and autonomous functions (e.g. regulation of appetite, body temperature, sleep). Thus, modulation of dopaminergic function may be beneficial in the treatment of a wide range of disorders affecting brain functions. In fact, drugs that act, directly or indirectly at central dopamine receptors are commonly used in the treatment of neurological and psychiatric disorders, e.g. Parkinson's disease and schizophrenia. However, currently available dopaminergic pharmaceuticals can have severe side effects. One class of compounds acting through the dopamine systems of the brain are dopaminergic stabilizers, which have shown to be useful in the treatment of both neurologic and psychiatric disorders
The typical pharmacological effects which are characteristic for dopaminergic stabilizers can be summarised as: 1) Increased turnover of dopamine in the terminal areas of the ascending dopaminergic projections of the mammalian brain; 2) No or only weak behavioural effects in otherwise untreated rats; and 3) Inhibition of behavioural effects induced by psychostimulants or psychotomimetic compounds in the rat. In the present invention this is referred to as a dopaminergic stabilizer profile.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,056,540 describes certain 4-phenyl-1,3-benzodioxane derivatives useful as anticonvulsive and antiarrhytmic agents. However, the 1-(4H-1,3-benzodioxin-2-yl)methanamine derivatives of the present invention are not suggested.